Four Unusual Stock Winners on a Down Friday

Are you panicking about a government shutdown or about no debt ceiling deal yet? Apparently that is all the market can think of as Washington, D.C., is yet again holding the nation and the global economy hostage. Don’t sweat these two serious risks universally. There are several stock winners today, and most of these would sure seem to be at least somewhat immune to the negative backlash if it comes about.

ArQule Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) is a clinical-stage (pre-revenue) biotechnology outfit targeting cancer. We have yet to find any news on the tapes, but it would seem to be development or research driven. Shares are up 11% at $2.75 on almost 1 million shares, twice the normal volume, after just about 45 minutes of trading. Its 52-week range is $1.98 to $5.14.

The Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) tripled its average daily volume to 1.6 million shares after only 45 minutes of trading. The company handily beat earnings and guided comparable sales higher. Now shares are up almost 8% at $24.19, against a 52-week range of $16.87 to $24.46.

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) is trading higher as well, but this appears to be solely based on the gains from rival Finish Line. Keep in mind that Foot Locker is worth some $5 billion, versus $1.2 billion for Finish Line, so this is the tail wagging the dog.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) managed to beat earnings after its debut as a DJIA component. The numbers were so good that it hit a new split-adjusted and dividend-adjusted all-time high of $75.25 earlier in the morning. After just more than 45 minutes of trading, we have shares up 5.35 at $74.03, against a 52-week range of $44.83 to $75.25. The smaller rival Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) was up 1.5% at $80.28 in conjunction with the news.